


Being There

by hunters_retreat



Series: Further Interruptions [45]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Al comes to the wrong conclusion, M/M, Protective Alphonse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-08 06:36:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21471634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunters_retreat/pseuds/hunters_retreat
Summary: “So, what do I have to deal with this time?” he demanded.  “What did you do to my brother now?”
Relationships: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang, Mei Chan | May Chang/Alphonse Elric
Series: Further Interruptions [45]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1095915
Comments: 10
Kudos: 104





	Being There

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, it's been way too long since I last updated this. And to be honest, this story has been sitting on my hard drive for a while. I needed to fix some things but I couldn't quite work them out. I think I managed now though, so I hope you enjoy!

It wasn’t hard to make a phone call. In fact, calling Uncle Al was one of his favorite things to do. It was the rest that had Maes concerned. It didn’t take a lot to get his uncle to visit, but it would take time and the longer things went, the more Maes worried.

Tishy seemed oblivious to what was happening, but Maes knew she had to see the same things he did. She just didn’t want to talk about it, as if admitting it would make the trouble real. Maes wasn’t like his sister though. He worried, and when he was worried about something, he observed, and he planned. It didn’t always work (it rarely worked the way he planned actually) but he was only eight and he figured someone owed him a learning curve for the way his two fathers were always gross together. It was enough to throw anyone off their game.

It threw him even more off his game now that his two fathers weren’t being all gross. They ate their meals together just like always, they tucked them all into bed, gave each other silly smiles over things Fumi did, and they seemed like everything was fine.

But it wasn’t.

It was two months after the phone call that Uncle Al sat down across from him and handed him a chocolate milkshake. Gracia, Aunt Mei, and Elysia had gone out for a day of shopping and Maes had gotten a day with Uncle Al. Which was the whole point of bringing his uncle home to Amestris in the first place.

He took a sip from his milkshake and smiled at his uncle. “It’s good,” he reassured him. There was a worried look on Al’s face and even if he knew it wasn’t about the milkshake, he couldn’t help himself. Al smiled at him as he took a sip of his own. 

“It is. Too bad your Father won’t drink milkshakes. He’d actually like them if he’d get past his hatred of milk.”

Maes laughed at that. He had no idea what Father disliked about milk, but it was a legendary hatred and Aunt Winry teased him about it all the time. He’d thought about calling her too, because he knew Aunt Winry and Father were close, but there was always something funny in the way she looked at his Dad that he never understood. Something that made him uncomfortable talking to her about this.

“So, you want to explain to me why I came all the way from Xing to have a milkshake with my nephew?” Al asked quietly. It was his soft voice, the one that came out when they were hurt or upset and needed consoling. Maes appreciated that his uncle took him seriously.

When he didn’t say anything right away, Alphonse spoke again. “I told everyone I just needed to be close to my family after someone broke into your house, but I don’t think that’s what this is about, is it?”

“No,” Maes said with a sigh. “I don’t think so anyway. Dad is just … he’s been working hard. Harder than usual because he’s trying to capture the man who was in our house. Father is spending as much time as he can working on some research that he says is really important too.”

“That makes sense. They want to make sure the three of you are safe.”

“I know, but Uncle Al, they aren’t acting like them anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… they aren’t all gross anymore. This morning I saw Dad come in the front door before Father was awake. He’s not sleeping at home anymore.”

“Maes, I’m sure that something else-”

“I’ve been watching,” Maes confessed. “I pretend every night, but after they think we’re asleep Dad gets dressed for work again and leaves. Every night Father tells him he should stay. That he loves him and he doesn’t have to go, but Dad leaves every night and comes home before anyone else wakes up.”

Uncle Al’s eyes went wide in surprise but Maes could see that he believed him. He let out a sigh of relief. He was only eight. He wasn’t supposed to carry this kinda weight. He had enough trouble with his two sisters.

“Maes, I want you to tell me everything that has been bothering you. You’re very much like your namesake, you know? Always watching what no one else sees. Tell me what makes you think something is wrong, and I promise I’ll help you figure it out.”

***

  
Lunch had been… unbearable. Alphonse liked to think he was pretty laid back and it was difficult to rile him up, but everyone knew he was very protective of his family. Everything Maes had spoke to him sent off warning signals in his brain that hadn’t lit up since they’d moved from Aerugo back to Amestris. 

He left his nephew with his wife and niece to visit with Gracia and Elysia for a little while. Ed was at home with Fumi working on research, so Alphonse had a clear afternoon. He knew just want to do with it, too.

No one stopped him as he walked into the compound, and even in the outer offices. It wasn’t until he was standing outside the doorway to his inner office that he was met with a pair of steely eyes that seemed to understand there was a threat present. She eyed him for a moment then nodded.

“I’ll clear as much as his schedule as you need,” Hawkeye said softly.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be here.”

“So long as he can still work tomorrow, I trust you’ll take care of things.”

“Then you know what happened?”

“I don’t,” she admitted. “What I know is he’s putting in the kind of hours that no family man should, let alone one who fought so hard not to work them.”

Alphonse nodded and walked past Hawkeye’s desk to enter the Fuhrer’s office. He didn’t knock, but swiftly entered and closed the door behind him. The room wasn’t lit very well and Alphonse would have asked about the lighting if he didn’t see the way Mustang was rubbing his eyes.

“Migraine?” he asked.

The fact that Roy’s head snapped up showed he hadn’t been aware of Alphonse’s entry and that was warning enough that something had happened to the man. 

“No, just a bad headache. I haven’t ventured into that territory just yet,” his brother-in-law said. There was tension in his voice and Al could see the way he moved, straight-shouldered and stiff. 

“I hear stress can do that to you.”

There must have been something in his voice that gave away his feelings because Roy sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers in a move that he hadn’t seen on this side of the desk in years. It had been intimidating as hell to an eleven year old. It was still intimidating to most adults. Alphonse wasn’t most people though and he’d walked Roy through the best and worst days of his life.

“What are you doing here, Al? When Ed said you’d changed your mind and decided to come after the events with the intruder I knew it wasn’t a regular visit, so why are you here? More specifically, why are you in my office instead of with your brother, nieces, and nephew?” 

“I just had lunch with Maes. He had … some interesting things to say.”

“What? Is something wrong with Maes?”

The warmth and concern would usually have been enough to melt Alphonse’s anger but not today. 

“He’s worried about his Father, who is begging his husband not to leave every night. He’s worried about his Dad who sneaks into the house every morning before anyone else can see so they don’t know he’s spending the night away from home. He’s worried about his parents who couldn’t keep their hands off each other who haven’t ‘been gross’ since the intruder two months ago.”

Mustang closed his eyes and Alphonse could see it hit him hard. Not as hard as it needed to though.

“I’ll talk to Maes tonight. I’m sorry he dragged you into this.”

“I’m his uncle. I’m always there when my family needs me,” Alphonse said. “So, what do I have to deal with this time?” he demanded. “What did you do to my brother now?”

It had been a long time since he’d forgiven Mustang for hurting his brother, but he’d never forgotten. Even so many years later, he never stopped worrying.

Mustang’s eyes turned hard though, his gaze blade-sharp and he stood behind his desk. “Don’t you dare,” he said coldly. “I had no idea, but you had no excuse. You knew. This whole time, you knew and you judged me for what I did wrong but you still let this happen!”

“What are you talking about?” Alphonse asked, because this was not the conversation he thought he was having. Mustang had never been weak but when it came to Ed, he never pushed the blame onto someone else. He always took responsibility for had happened between them and in all the years between that had never changed. This was something entirely different. 

Mustang scoffed. “Go home and ask your brother. Let him know that his son has seen him begging me to stay. Maybe it will stop him. Maybe he’ll actually do what he needs to do instead of…” He cut himself off and Alphonse felt himself at a complete loss. 

“I’m not leaving until you tell me what happened. Ed will just sugar-coat it and try to act like nothing is wrong.”

“Damn right he will,” Roy snapped. “Time travel, Alphonse. You know all about it, right?”

Alphonse nodded because he wasn’t sure what else to do. His brother-in-law was furious and while he had seen him angry in the past, this was turning into the cold sort of rage that had almost cost the man his sanity after Maes’ death. 

“You knew that he came to me because he was told we’d be married with a family. You knew he let me seduce him into my bed because he believed there was some fairytale ending out there for us. I just thought… I thought he came for me,” Roy said quietly. “He was always too good for me and I knew that. I couldn’t turn him away though and I was never so devastated or so grateful as when I found out he left for Aerugo, because I could only hurt him.”

“Brother never believed that.” He didn’t want to defend Roy right now, but it was the truth and even in this state Alphonse couldn’t help himself. Roy was family, no matter how his brain had jumped to a conclusion that he was beginning to doubt.

Roy just shook his head. “When he came back I can’t say I was happy he had someone else, but he seemed happy and for that I was thankful. I’d learned to deal with my past better and I could see how much I had relied on Ed to help me through the worst of it. And how when I was at my worst, I hurt him to make him leave me. I was happy that I could at least see that he was getting on with his life. But then… we had coffee. And dinner. And it led to a few dates that weren’t quite dates but that gave me the hope that he could see that I was trying to be a better man. Not for him, but because of him.”

“He never stopped loving you. Nate didn’t change that. Two years in Aerugo didn’t either. He knew who you were, even when you apparently didn’t.”

“I thought we had a chance then. I believed that Ed was able to forgive me and he chose to be with me anyways. But before we could see where it could lead, I was taken. I was abducted and tortured and Ed was far too invested in me to walk away when I was rescued. He didn’t have any choice but to stay by my side, because he loved me. I loved him so damn much I was willing to accept that. Because even with our past, he chose to love me, Al. He. Chose. Me. Anyway.”

His voice continued but it was almost a whisper and Al found himself moving closer. “But that was the lie, wasn’t it? He never chose me. Our sixteen year old daughter told him to. She told him about this life and … he’s such a fucking martyr. How could he refuse to run off and protect someone in need? Someone he’d just been told he would marry and have a family with? How could he refuse the idea that someone would love and want him when he was so full of doubts back then? How could he look at Tishy, see the irrefutable proof of time travel under her feet, and not believe that this path had already been chosen for him and that it would be a good one?”

“Roy-”

“Tell me Al, what choice did he have?” Tears hung in Roy’s eyes and Alphonse took another step closer. “He stayed with me after I was abducted because he knew they tortured me to find out his location. He had no choice. He had no choice in walking away from me while I was still so broken, and because I was so afraid of losing him and this chance that I rushed everything. We married quickly and had kids right away and at the worst, he never turned his back on us. He could never turn his back on his family. He had no choice. But I believed it was okay because he loved me, almost as much as I loved him. I screwed everything up, so many times, but he put us back together and he found a way to make us work, but he never once had a damn choice in the matter!”

Roy dropped his head into his hands and let out a shaky breath. “How can I go home to him knowing that? How can I continue to force myself into his life when he won’t even talk about it? When he acts like it doesn’t matter? Like I didn’t steal years of his life?”

Alphonse staggered over to the couch in Roy’s office and sat heavily. “Roy, you can’t possibly think that he doesn’t love you, after all this time? That he wouldn’t chose you over and over again? That he hasn’t, even after horrible work hours and rumors and being hounded by the press? The stupid innuendos thrown around at ever damn military function he has to go to?”

“I don’t doubt how my husband feels, Alphonse,” Roy answered. “What I doubt is that he ever had a choice in the matter. And no matter how much I love him, I don’t know how to live with that.”

“Your kids know something is wrong, Roy. Maes called me two months ago and asked me to come help. You can’t keep this up. Even if you and Ed think you can keep up this limbo, you need to figure it out for your kids.”

Alphonse stood up and looked down at Mustang. “I’ll go see Brother and convince him to give me the kids tonight. Go home. Talk to your husband. Find a way to make things work, because he loves you. No matter what you do or how you break his heart, he will always beg you to come back home.”

“And in the end, I’ll never be able to stay away from him. What does that make us, Al?”

“Hopelessly in love?” he offered.

“Or terribly, unhealthily co-dependent.” 

“I prefer hopelessly in love,” Alphonse said after a moment. Both were, unfortunately, true.

“You are an optimist.”

“I am,” Alphonse said with a small smile. “So I’m going to take your children for the night and give you a chance to go home and make up with your husband.”

“I’ll do my best, Alphonse, but I don’t know how to make this right.”

“Only one way to figure it out, and that isn’t by sneaking out every night. And remember Roy, if my nephew has caught you, it’s only a matter of time before the press does as well. We don’t need another round of tabloid headlines so soon after they just stopped.”

Roy rolled his eyes but it was the most like him that Alphonse had seen since he’d walked in. “I’ll come by tomorrow to check in. Before I send the kids home. Let me know if I need to keep them another day or two. I’m sure the kids wouldn’t mind taking me on a trip to Resembol.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you, Alphonse, for letting me know Maes talked to you.”

“He’s just worried about his fathers. We all worry about you two.” He made his way to the door and looked back at his brother-in-law. He’d walked in so certain that Roy had hurt his brother again but it was something entirely different. He wished he could make things easier for the two of them but it wasn’t the life they’d chosen. In the end, all he could do was be there for them.


End file.
